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Whenever minor points may be offered in defense of Christianity, they cannot compensate for the monstrous doctrine that one is morally obligated to accept as true religious beliefs that cannot be comprehended or demonstrated. It must be remembered that this teaching is not incidental to Christianity; it lies at the heart of Jesus' mission , and it has played a significant role throughout Christianity's history. It was this believe that "justified" the slaughter of dissenters and heretics in the name of morality, and its philosophical consequence may be described as the inversion-or, more precisely, the perversion-of morality.
To be moral, according to Jesus, man must shackle his reason. He must force himself to believe that which he cannot understand. He must suppress, in the name of morality, any doubts that surface in his mind. He must regard as a mark of excellence an unwillingness to subject religious beliefs to critical examination. Less criticism leads to more faith-and faith, Jesus declares, is the hallmark of virtue. Indeed, "unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18.3). children, after all, will believe almost anything.
The psychological impact of this doctrine is devastating. To divorce morality from truth is to turn man's reason against himself. Reason, as the faculty by which man comprehends reality and exercises control over his environment, is the basic requirement of self-esteem. To the extent that a man believes that his mind is a potential enemy, that it may lead to the "evils" of question-asking and criticism, he will feel the need for intellectual passivity-to deliberately sabotage his mind in the name of virtue. Reason becomes a vice, something to be feared, and man finds that his worst enemy is his own capacity to think and question. One can scarcely imagine a more effective way to introduce perpetual conflict into man's consciousness and thereby produce a host of neurotic symptoms.
Whenever minor points may be offered in defense of Christianity, they cannot compensate for the monstrous doctrine that one is morally obligated to accept as true religious beliefs that cannot be comprehended or demonstrated. It must be remembered that this teaching is not incidental to Christianity; it lies at the heart of Jesus' mission , and it has played a significant role throughout Christianity's history. It was this believe that "justified" the slaughter of dissenters and heretics in the name of morality, and its philosophical consequence may be described as the inversion-or, more precisely, the perversion-of morality.
To be moral, according to Jesus, man must shackle his reason. He must force himself to believe that which he cannot understand. He must suppress, in the name of morality, any doubts that surface in his mind. He must regard as a mark of excellence an unwillingness to subject religious beliefs to critical examination. Less criticism leads to more faith-and faith, Jesus declares, is the hallmark of virtue. Indeed, "unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18.3). children, after all, will believe almost anything.
The psychological impact of this doctrine is devastating. To divorce morality from truth is to turn man's reason against himself. Reason, as the faculty by which man comprehends reality and exercises control over his environment, is the basic requirement of self-esteem. To the extent that a man believes that his mind is a potential enemy, that it may lead to the "evils" of question-asking and criticism, he will feel the need for intellectual passivity-to deliberately sabotage his mind in the name of virtue. Reason becomes a vice, something to be feared, and man finds that his worst enemy is his own capacity to think and question. One can scarcely imagine a more effective way to introduce perpetual conflict into man's consciousness and thereby produce a host of neurotic symptoms.
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حينما قد تعرض نقاط بسيطة في دفاع المسيحية، لايمكن تعويضهم للمذهب البشع الذي يلزم المرء أدبيا للقبول كمعتقدات دينية حقيقية التي لا يمكن أن تفهم أو تبرهن . يجب أن يتذكّر بأنّ هذا التعليم لا يكون عارض إلى المسيحية؛ يعتبر راسخا في قلب مهمّة السيد المسيح، ولعبت دورا مهما في كافة أنحاء تأريخ المسيحية. هو كان هذا الاعتقاد الذي "برّر" ذبح المنشقّين وألضلاليين بإسم المبادىء أخلاقية، ونتيجته الفلسفية قد توصف كتنكيس ، أو بدقة أكثر ، إفساد المبادىء الأخلاقية.
أن تتمسك بالاخلاق ، طبقا للسيد المسيح، يجب أن يقيد الرجل منطقه. هو يجب أن يجبر نفسه لإعتقاد بإنّه لا يستطيع الفهم. هو يجب أن يقمع، بإسم المبادىء الأخلاقية، أيّ شكوك التي تظهر على السطح في رأيه. هو يجب أن يكون رمزا للبراعة رافضا اخضاع المعتقدات الدينية إلى اختبار حاسم . يؤدّي قلة النقد إلى تقوية إلايمان- والايمان ، يعلن السيد المسيح ، علامة الفضيلة. في الحقيقة، "مالم تتحول وتصبح مثل الأطفال، أنت لن تدخل مملكة السماء " (ماثيو 18.3). الأطفال، مع ذلك، سيعتقدون تقريبا أيّ شئ.
إنّ التأثير النفسي لهذا المذهب مدمر. لفصل المبادىء الأخلاقية من الحقيقة يعتبر تحويل منطق الرجل ضدّ نفسه. المنطلق ، كالقدرة التي فيها يفهم الرجل الحقيقة ويمارس السيطرة على بيئته، يعتبر المطلب الأساسي لإحترام الذات. إلى حد بأن إعتقادات الرجل بأن يعتبر رأيه عدو محتمل، بأنّه قد يؤدّي إلى "الشرور" التساءل -النقد- السؤال، سيشعر بالحاجة إلى الإستسلام الثقافي لتخريب بتعمد رأيه بإسم الفضيلة . يصبح المنطق رذيله ، شيء يجب اجتنابه، ويجد الرجل بأنّ عدوه الأسوأ قدرته الخاصة للإعتقاد والمسائله . يمكن الفرد أن يتخيّل بالكاد طريق أكثر فعّالية لتقديم النزاع الدائم إلى وعي الرجل وبالتالي يشترط مجموعة كبيرة من الأعراض العصابية.
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